Name: Ripe Tomato Pickle
Ingredients: 15 pounds tomatoes, skin removed, chopped, and drained; 2 cups chopped onions; 2 cups chopped celery; 1 cup grated horseradish; 1 cup coarse sea salt; 2 cups sugar; 4 large green peppers, chopped; 1 crisp cabbage, chopped; ½ pound white mustard seed; 1 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon ground mace; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 3 quarts cider vinegar; 2 whole horseradish roots

Why it works: Horseradish and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,832 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Horseradish + mustardtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,832 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Celery + mustardtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,169 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Horseradish + cabbagetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together481 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Cabbage + mustardtop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,645 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tomatoes: Provide the bulk and moisture of the pickle, along with their own acidity.
Cider vinegar: Adds sharp acidity that preserves the mixture and gives the pickle its tang.
Coarse sea salt: Draws water out of the vegetables and helps preserve the pickle by limiting microbial growth.
Sugar: Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and adds sweetness.
White mustard seed: Contributes pungent flavour and a sharp, mustardy bite as the pickle matures.
Cabbage: Adds crunch and body, holding texture through the long rest.

The step that matters

Let it sit for 2 weeks before using. The salt, vinegar and sugar need time to penetrate the vegetables and blend their flavours. Using it early gives a harsh, unmellowed pickle with less developed flavour.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, celery, horseradish, sugar, pepper, cabbage, mustard):

Turnipfits better
Broccolifits better
Lettucefits better
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, celery, horseradish, sugar, pepper, cabbage, mustard. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ripe Tomato Pickle